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Inspirational and Uplifting Celebration for the Music Ministry of Jean Ishee

St. John’s Episcopal Church will play host to a concert on Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m., to celebrate the life of Jean B. Ishee. Mrs. Ishee was organist and choirmaster for the church from 1959-1995. Proceeds from the concert will support the Dr. and Mrs. Bert Ishee Scholarship Fund at Methodist University, where Jean was an original faculty member beginning in 1960. She retired in 1988 as an associate professor and the Fine Arts Department chair, after which the University honored her with Faculty Emeritus status.

Former students, colleagues, and friends will be joined in performance by trumpeters from the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Larry Wells of Methodist University, and Dr. Tim Altman of UNC-Pembroke, as well as the Ishees’ daughter, Suzanne. The concert will feature some of Jean’s most beloved music. Her Christmas Eve services at St. John’s were legendary, and the church bell choir and combined choruses of St. John’s and St. Patrick’s Catholic Church will present, among others, selections from Advent. Organists Patrick O’Briant and Dr. Brian Cash will present numerous favorites. Sharing the console will be Mrs. Ishee’s cousin, Dianne Stanley, who is the organist at St. Luke Methodist Church in Sanford, N.C., where Jean held her first job as music director from 1942-1946. Suzanne Ishee will perform selections with Dr. Wells and Anne Rogers, music director of St. Patrick’s.

Reflections on Jean’s music ministry and her life will be made by her former students, Betty Neill Parsons, and Jean Ishee’s granddaughters, Jean Leonard and Jessica Kerley. Methodist University Music Department Chair Keith Dippre will offer words of welcome.

To make a donation to the Dr. and Mrs. Bert Ishee Scholarship Fund, visit http://donate.methodist.edu. A minimum donation of $10 is suggested. A light reception will follow the concert at the Kyle House.

Event Details

Celebration of the Music Ministry of Jean Ishee
Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 2 p.m.
St. John’s Episcopal Church
302 Green Street
Fayetteville, N.C.
Reception to follow: Kyle House
To donate: http://donate.methodist.edu.

Methodist University is an independent four-year institution of higher education with over 2,400 students from 41 states and 53 countries. Methodist University offers over 80 majors and concentrations, 100 clubs and organizations, four master's degree programs, one doctoral degree program, and 20 NCAA III intercollegiate sports. To learn more about Methodist University, please visit methodist.edu or facebook.com/MethodistUniversity.